Happiness First
by CorvusCorvidae
Summary: Rachel and Brittany want a puppy, and Santana finds herself along for the ride. AU. One-shot. Berrittana Week – Day One: Firsts.


Berrittana Week – Day One: First Time (First Date, First Kiss, First "I Love Yous", First Pet, First Fight, etc.)

*0*0*

Happiness First

*0*0*

Santana felt like a fool. She should have seen this coming. Their smiles had been too inviting, dinner had been all of her favourites, and the sex afterwards ticked nearly all her kinks. They had been buttering her up, and only now she could see what for.

Of course they tag teamed her. Of course they had her pinned beneath their naked bodies, lavishing kisses against her skin, whispering all sorts of dirty things in her ears, promises of what was to come, if she only said yes.

"We want to get a puppy," Rachel had whispered, licking her lips as she looked to Brittany. She grinned back, and then they leant over and gave each other a soft kiss, which never failed to turn Santana on.

"We're ready for a puppy," Brittany then added, pulling back, and she rose her eyebrows to see what Santana would say.

It wasn't like they hadn't had this conversation before.

When they first moved into the house over a year ago, Rachel had practically begged for a dog, citing that she'd feel much safer with an animal around for the three of them. But back then, they were all ridiculously busy and no one would be around to look after it during the day, which meant Santana had Brittany on side with her.

Now, though, things had changed. Rachel had a show in the evening, which meant she was free during the day. Brittany was busy for most of the day, but on the days she didn't have a shoot, she was as free as a bird, being ultra-flexible with her schedule. Even Santana had more time this year, and could technically look after the dog in the evening.

But just because she could didn't mean she wanted to.

Puppies were messy. Hell, dogs in general were messy. Animals were filthy, in fact. She didn't want that anywhere near her. Their house was immaculate, because maybe she was a little anal about things being in their right place, and maybe Rachel had instilled a regimented cleaning schedule to ensure things stayed clean and she loved it. A dog, a puppy, was not going to ensure that things remained clean.

No, it was going to piss on the floor, crap on their carpet, eat their shoes, destroy their furniture, smell of dog and whatever crap it rolled in, leave mud stains around the house, eat out the bins, drink out the toilet, and good lord, Santana could not cope with any of that.

"Come on, San, don't you want to make us happy?" Brittany cooed, leaning down to plant a kiss on her collarbone, her lips drawing gooseflesh to her skin.

Fuck. She was so going to lose this argument because of her damn libido.

"This isn't fair," Santana muttered, shaking her head, only to hear the two of them chuckling.

"We'll make it up to you," Rachel sang, her hips gyrating against her thigh, her fingers playing idly by her hipbones. "All you have to do is say yes."

Santana wanted to scream yes, because then they'd stop teasing, and she was definitely ready for whatever round this was. It wasn't exactly every night where they got to have wicked sex all evening. If Rachel wasn't performing, then Brittany was shooting on location, and it was usually Santana keeping their big bed warm, so forgive her for wanting to keep these goddesses around; especially when they were naked and talking about all the sinful things they wanted to do to her, and each other.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"San," Brittany whined, kissing her neck, all the way up to her ear. "Please say yes," she pleaded, and there was no way to fight this off, not when her fingers were skimming down her stomach, so close but yet so far.

She was being played, but right then, she couldn't care less.

"Yes, fine, whatever," Santana moaned, her hands reaching to out to entwine in both of their hair, tugging on Brittany's and pulling Rachel's closer. "But you two so fucking owe me," she groaned, and the two of them giggled at her. They fucking giggled.

"You won't regret this," Rachel said, beaming happily, before closing the distance, her breasts brushing against Santana's, her lips capturing hers, and then their fingers were exactly where Santana needed them, with Brittany's lips on her neck.

She'd definitely regret saying yes, but fuck, if they made it up to her like this, Santana would learn to get over it.

*0*0*

Naturally, Santana thought that just because she'd said yes meant that she had at least eight weeks to get the place prepped for whatever four legged fiend that would be joining them. Wrong; Brittany and Rachel had already contacted a breeder, visited the puppies with their mother, placed a deposit, and in two weeks, the puppy would be coming home.

Two weeks. That was nowhere near the time Santana needed to get her head around that fact that she was going to be living with a wild animal. Okay, maybe it wasn't wild, but it was going to need to be trained, and she damn well knew that Rachel didn't have the ability to do that, and Brittany was far too sweet to tell it off. She was going to be stuck being the bad guy. Nice.

All of this was sitting in her mind, along with needing to buy the proper equipment, getting set up with a vet, ensuring they puppy-proofed the house, and other endless lists filed with dog related drama. It really wasn't what she needed to be thinking about, but she couldn't help it.

However, for that night, she was pushing all talk about the puppy to the floor and intended to enjoy her time with Rachel and Brittany. She was driving home with the full intention that she'd be stripping down to next to nothing and dragging one of them, if not both, into a bath to relax. They were both home, as Brittany didn't have a shoot on at the moment and Rachel had the night off, so it should have been just the three of them chilling out together, which was exactly what Santana needed.

Of course, the two of them had other ideas.

The fact that the projector was set up in the living room should have been a big indication that Santana needed to get the hell out of there, and fast. She had only come in the door, dropped her bags, and wandered into the living room, fully expecting to see those two sprawled out on the couch together. This was not what she was expecting, and nope, this was the last thing she wanted to endure.

Sadly, Brittany caught her by the wrist, laughing at Santana's expression as she did so and then welcomed her home with kisses and hugs. The kisses and hugs helped, but they were not enough.

"Relax, it's not that bad," Brittany cooed, shaking her head, with her arms around Santana's neck. She had placed her hands on Brittany's hips and dropped her head into the crook of her neck, inhaling the comforting scent and feeling the exhaustion in her muscles.

"I don't believe you," Santana muttered, and she felt Brittany's body vibrate with laughter once more.

"She just wants to show you what kind of dog we're getting." While that sounded simple enough, it was Rachel, so things were bound to be more complicated.

"And tell me about its parents, and the breed's history, and what will be required to own one, as well as all the health problems associated with the breed. Come on, Britt, just let me sneak out," she pleaded, lifting her head and pouting as she did so. It had a fifty/fifty chance of working, but from the amused smile on Brittany's face, Santana knew she was doomed.

"No can do. I'm with her on this." Of course she was. The two of them had started tag-teaming her, and Santana was powerless against them.

"Traitor," she grunted, trying to bury herself into Brittany's embrace.

"You love me," Brittany reminded her lightly, kissing her forehead.

"I love her, too, but that doesn't mean I want to sit through her PowerPoint presentation," Santana grumbled, kicking off her shoes and dumping her jacket over the couch. She knew Rachel hated it when she did that, but fuck it, she hated sitting through impromptu PowerPoint presentations so it was only fair.

"You're home!" Rachel cried, moments later, practically bouncing into the living room. God, she looked so excited and so damn adorable, if Santana had any fight left in her it was gone. She'd endure this, if only she'd keep smiling like that.

"Can I at least eat first, before the PowerPoint presentation?" she asked, slipping out of Brittany's embrace and going over to saddle up to Rachel.

"I was hoping you would. You're more grumpy when you're hungry." Santana wanted to argue that fact, but decided not to. She was too tired.

Seeing the fight having left her, Brittany and Rachel coaxed Santana into the bedroom to help her get changed, with a few lingering touches here and there, and then they sat down to eat. The two of them made sure not to mention the puppy in any capacity, and Santana very much appreciated that fact. For one small moment, she could push that to the back of her mind like it wasn't really happening.

Obviously, that moment ended, and then she was sitting front and centre in the living room, with Rachel on one side of the screen, Brittany on the other, and the PowerPoint up on show. How, _how_, she wound up with these two was beyond her, but fucking hell, she must really love them to put up with all this crazy.

"Alright, alright, what kind of dog are we getting?" Santana asked, wanting to get the ball rolling. She knew this would probably take a while because Rachel had named this PowerPoint presentation _"Introducing Our Newest, and Furriest, Family Member: The Basics & Beyond". _If that title didn't drive one to drink, what did?

"A Rhodesian Ridgeback!" Rachel cried, clapping her hands excitedly like a seal, though honestly, Santana was still trying to process what she'd actually said.

"What the hell is that? It sounds like something out of Harry Potter," she remarked, frowning. She wasn't exactly a genius on dog breeds; she knew the basics, but had never heard of this one.

"It's not a dragon," Brittany supplied, looking a little disappointed by this fact, and Santana shot her an endearing smile.

"It would be cooler if it was." And Brittany nodded in agreement, but shrugged helplessly like she just couldn't make it happen, despite her best efforts. Jesus, Santana loved her.

"We're not in Game of Thrones, Santana, so let's be reasonable," Rachel began, trying to pull the conversation back on track. Moving off the first slide, Santana was met with a bullet pointed list of information about the dog, and then a few pictures. Of course, Rachel also began reading the bullet points. "It's a relatively large dog, wheaten in colour, with a ridge down its back from its coat. They were very big in Rhodesia for looking after cattle and herds, and packs of them would go up against lions." Rhodesia, right, why couldn't Rachel have just said Zimbabwe?

"They're badass," Brittany whispered, making Santana smirk.

"Here are a just a few photos to wet your appetite as to our newly acquired pet, and what he'll look like as he grows." Rachel then moved onto the next slide and they detailed a picture of the puppy, the adolescent, and then the adult dog.

Well, fuck. He was going to be big. Thankfully, not as big as Great Dane or St. Bernard, but still, he wasn't exactly small. Rachel had said she wanted a good guard dog, and this dude would definitely be a deterrent.

"Okay, tell me about them." The smile Santana received in return from Rachel and Brittany was enough to have her relaxing into the couch. She could put up with this, and the pup. Anything, really, to make them happy.

Plus, it did look pretty badass.

*0*0*

On the day the puppy was to be collected, Santana went off to work as usual. She wasn't getting involved. Brittany and Rachel had wanted the damn thing in the first place, so she was keeping out of it. They could go pick it up, they could introduce it to the house, they could try and get it under control before Santana headed home that evening.

Well, that was what she was hoping, though it obviously was going to be very different.

When she arrived home that night, she scanned the house for any obvious signs of distress. There was none. The lights were on, curtains drawn, and it looked like it did every other night. Getting out her keys, she walked up the steps and unlocked the door, hoping beyond all hope that this new puppy wasn't about to pounce on her immaculate suit or try and chew her shoes right off her feet.

Neither of that happened, however, and she was pleasantly surprised. It could only go downhill from here, she noted, though, as she took off her coat and dropped her bags. It was then, that she heard it, the tell-tale signs of a puppy attempting to bark at something.

Heading further inside, Santana perused the hallway and saw no sign of him, and then headed into the living room, only to come up short with no puppy in sight. Of course, Rachel and Brittany weren't in sight either.

"Darby, where you headed, baby?" Rachel called from the kitchen, and then this excitable pup came skidding round the corner, stopping completely when he saw Santana. His paws were going to be a bitch on the wooden floors, she just knew it.

Looking over the puppy, Santana saw that he was bigger than she was expecting for a puppy at eight weeks, and his paws and ears were huge. Darby, as Santana assumed he was called, had a black nose and black hair along his mouth, which changed into the brown wheaten colour they had spoken of. As of yet, she couldn't see the ridge, but shit he was actually pretty cute. That was going to make this so much harder.

"Look at him," Brittany cooed, smiling brightly as she came round the corner. "You can't say you don't love that face already, huh?" Damn her for being able to read the softness in Santana's eyes.

"He's…different," she opted for, instead, and received an eye roll in return.

Rachel then came out the kitchen, and it was almost like Darby had realised his goddess had returned because he went charging over to her, tail wagging, paws scampering on the floor, and full of excitement. She met him with equal enthusiasm, and Christ, they were never going to get this puppy to sleep tonight.

"How was work?" Brittany asked, sliding over and giving Santana a proper greeting, leaving a tender kiss on her lips.

"Stressful," she murmured, to which she received a sympathetic look back. It was fine, work was work. She was good at her job, and it didn't really matter if she enjoyed it when she got to spend her time with Rachel and Brittany.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Brittany said, smiling as she watched Rachel try and get Darby to sit. Yeah, that wasn't happening. Dog wanted nothing to do with having a seat. He was much more interested in pulling on her sleeve and making a racket on the floor.

"I'll just go get changed," Santana replied, keen to get out of her suit before the puppy got near her. Kissing Britt on the cheek, Santana headed past Rachel and Darby in the hall and moved for the stairs. It was with the now familiar clicking of his paws that she realised the puppy was following her, and given there wasn't a baby gate on the stairs to stop him, he went charging up, full of excitement, looking at her like she was to praise him for such an effort.

And okay, fuck, maybe he looked adorable trying to clamour up the stairs with his big paws getting in his way, and his eyes were kinda mesmerising, and shit, she actually was already endeared to this untrained beast.

"Darby!" Britt called, and yeah, he was so in love with her too because his head whipped round and he was back to falling down the stairs in excitement.

They'd need to work on ways to tire him out, but that could wait, Santana guessed. For now, she wasn't going to say anything, as Rachel and Brittany's laughter rang through the house. Yeah, maybe she could live with him if he kept her girls happy. That would be an alright concession to make.

*0*0*

Heading to bed that night, Santana was hoping for a good night's sleep.

Brittany and Rachel had been playing with the puppy all night, and nope, she was not jealous that they had found a new favourite in the household. Whatever. Their preoccupation with him did allow Santana to get some work done that evening, which had helped, but now she was tired, and she was ready to cuddle up with her girls, and all thoughts of the dog out of her mind.

Darby had other ideas, of course, because he wasn't used to being by himself without his brothers and sisters, so was whining his little heart out in the kitchen. And okay, Santana felt sorry for him, but she knew better than to cave under his whimpers. That would only encourage him.

Rachel and Brittany, however, had no qualms about going to comfort him.

The three of them had all turned in together, because Santana couldn't trust those two to leave the pup alone. After following their normal routines, they crawled into bed, with Rachel in the middle for a change. Santana normally slept in the middle, but since having been tag teamed by the other two, she didn't want to risk that happening again. And Santana just knew, if she had been in the middle, they would have done exactly that this evening.

"Oh gosh, he sounds like he's in pain," Rachel whined, and Santana could just tell that she was frowning, but she wasn't daring opening her eyes to confirm that theory.

"Maybe he's just lonely," Brittany supplied, and Santana felt her rolling over. Now she just knew she couldn't open her eyes because, like the puppy, those damn eyes would manipulate her into caving.

"Awww, we should keep him company," Rachel said quickly, and then Santana could feel them attempting to get out the bed. No, just no.

"No, I do not think so," Santana injected. "Neither of you are to go in there, otherwise he's totally going to play us." Devious little bugger.

"What if he needs the toilet?" Brittany asked, and damn her for having some sense because that was a reasonable conclusion to draw.

"He's got another twenty minutes, and then I'll go to take him out." The fact that she had to be the one kicking off the housebreaking was just ridiculous, but she'd bring that up another time.

"How come you get to go?" they asked, almost in unison, an equal whine in their voices. It was honestly like they were both sent from God himself to fuck with her thinking.

"Because I'll put him on the lead, take him out without talking to him. You two will cuddle and kiss him, and the little bugger will learn that if he cries you'll come running." Which was understandable. And okay, maybe Santana couldn't blame him because if she was that adorable and had these two goddesses running after her, she'd use it to her full advantage as well.

"He's just a puppy, Santana. You make him sound like an evil genius."

"He is an evil genius. He's got you two running after him. Not even I can do that."

"Awww, you're jealous," Brittany cooed, and nope, she was not going to rise to that.

"We still love you," Rachel sang, leaning over and planting a kiss on her cheek.

God, these women.

*0*0*

The whining went on for fucking weeks. Literally, three weeks of that bullshit, and it was getting harder and harder to convince Brittany and Rachel to stay in the damn bed when he whimpered. It didn't help that Rachel usually came back from her show and would go into the kitchen to get a drink before coming to bed, therefore practically feeding Darby's whimpering. Nor did it help when Brittany woke up at around six to go running, and since he was too young to go with, he was awake and whining for comfort once more.

Santana's sleep routine was getting shot to hell.

The most surprising of all, though, and the one thing she hadn't told Rachel or Britt, was that it was hardest when they weren't around. When it was just her, tucked up in bed alone, with Rachel performing, and Brittany away on location, Santana fucking struggled to keep her ass in the bed and not go down and bring Darby upstairs with her.

It had always been her keeping those two from breaking the rules, but with them gone, it was damn well hard to remind herself that she needed to stick to the rules, as well.

When he finally stopped whining and whimpering at night, Santana thanked every God imaginable, and finally, finally, managed to get a good night's sleep. Of course, when Darby needed the bathroom, and he was learning pretty good not to piss around the house, he would whine and whimper until someone came down to let him out.

Santana was still on that duty, because she did not encourage him in any way, and that's how she found herself outside, freezing her fucking nipples off while he was smelling the flowerpots. Seriously, dude, what the hell?

Knowing that she couldn't talk to him, because he would totally think it was playtime if she did, Santana had to stand there like an idiot while he found the perfect spot to piss. It was so tedious.

Seriously, if he wasn't so cute, Santana would have him skinned and made into a rug or something equally horrific. He got away with so much shit, and nothing but a strong look of disapproval from Britt or Rach. It was completely ridiculous.

If Santana had pissed on the carpet, she would have been asked to move the fuck out, but no, poor Darby just had an accident and he'd learn from it. If Santana had destroyed Rachel's handbag and Brittany's photography bag out of pure boredom, they would have given her the silent treatment and made her replace them, but no, poor Darby is just teething and doesn't know better.

Poor Darby this and poor Darby that, what the fuck about poor Santana?

She was struggling. She had a furry, four-legged fiend who always managed to pick the worst moments to come see what they were up to. Dude, if the door is closed, it means they're busy, busy doing grownup things that puppies should not witness. It does not mean try and dig your way to the other side; that carpet is fucking expensive.

But okay, as Darby finally did his business and wander back over to her, looking a little sleepy, she could see the appeal. He was looking up at her with his big brown eyes, probably wondering why the hell she hadn't opened the door to let them inside again, and yeah, he was cute. Ridiculously cute.

"I fucking hate you, but you're fucking adorable," Santana confessed, dropping to her knees, welcoming the licks of affection he was trying to give her hands. "Don't tell Rach or Britt, though, or it'll be the end of me." Darby continued to lavish her with affection, his tail wagging excitedly. God, he was so easily amused.

Rising to her feet, Darby followed Santana inside like she was holding treats, and he headed straight for his bed, taking a seat. The continuous thump-thump-thump of his tail wagging against the floor had her smiling at him, softening her gaze.

"If you behave, you can stay," she murmured, rubbing his ears before heading upstairs to bed. Hopefully, he'd heed her advice and do as he was told. Then they could live harmoniously side by side.

Santana wasn't counting on it, but low and behold, somehow, in all the madness that followed in the months after, Darby began to step up into the model dog. With this newfound good behaviour, he also began to take to Santana in particular, and shit, she was powerless to fight his mesmerising gaze.

So maybe she looked forward to seeing his face when she came home after a long day at work, and maybe she liked that out of all three of them, he chose her as the person to cuddle up to. The guy was a little charmer, simple as that.

She might not have wanted him to begin with, but it definitely wasn't like that anymore.

Rachel and Brittany also noticed the change in her, and there was just something hypnotising about seeing Santana fall in love with their new family member that had them closing Darby in the kitchen and tackling Santana in the living room, kissing her adoringly.

Even when out and about, playing in the dog park, watching Darby make friends, Brittany struggled to contain her excitement when she overheard Santana talking about what a great dog he was, and Rachel fought her smile every time Santana lavished him with affection. Getting Darby had definitely been one of the best decisions they'd ever made, period.

On that particular visit to the dog park, the three of them found themselves huddled up as Darby darted about with the other dogs. It was much colder in the city now, and while Darby didn't look to be affected by it, they certainly were. Santana wanted to bitch about how they wouldn't be out freezing their asses off if they'd never gotten Darby, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, not anymore.

Rachel and Brittany clearly knew as much, and set in motion the next part of their grand plan.

"Can we get another one?" Rachel asked hopefully, and Santana shook her head, laughing. She had to be crazy. The cold weather had affected her mental state, simple as that.

"In your dreams," she replied, and Brittany's smile seemed to grow with her words.

"That's okay, we can work on babies next," she chimed in, and Santana's smile dropped instantly, the blood draining from her face at the prospect.

Rachel and Brittany seemed to find her reaction hilarious, and after laughing their asses off for a good few minutes, they pulled Santana closer and kissed her on each cheek.

"Don't worry, no babies."

"Yet," Rachel finished, and fuck, Santana just knew that when they were ready, when they wanted to start expanding their family, she'd find herself being tag-teamed again, with their glorious kisses easing her fears, and dammit; there was no way she could resist these two.

Maybe, _maybe_, she needed to just follow their lead. After all, they'd convinced her that Darby was a good idea, and hell, now Santana wouldn't be without him. So _maybe_ when they came to her talking of babies and getting pregnant Santana could just go with the flow. If it would make them happy, then why the hell not?

With a small smile, trying to hide it from the other two, Santana couldn't help herself from enjoying the prospect of the two of them cooing over a baby, with Darby looking on excitedly, and yeah, she couldn't wait.

Catching the hopeful and happy look in Santana's eyes, Rachel and Brittany knew they'd been successful, and they hugged Santana tighter. Everything was falling into place so perfectly. First a pet, then a baby, and now that Santana was behind it, they had no problems expanding their family.

How did they ever get so lucky?

*0*0*


End file.
